Forever and Ever (Sequel to Redneck has Feelings)
by Kay0993
Summary: Kayla and the group have gone through more than they ever thought could happen. Dealling with the living and the dead. Always sleeping with one eye open, not trusting anyone new, and losing people they love. Its 5 years later. The twins and judith are now 5, carl is 17. Everything is going as well as it can for living in a zombie apocalypse, but for how long?Found on quotev&wattpad
1. Chapter 1

Alright guys! That is the end of "The Redneck has Feelings" !

thanks for all the love and support through it!

Now I have written a sequel to it, let me know if you're interested!


	2. Don't be late

The cool air blows on this hot Georgia day. A lot has happened in the past 5 years. Things that I thought would only happen in horror movies. Terrible things. Some good has come also, but no girl ever dreams about getting married and having kids in the zombie apocalypse. My twins are 5 years old now. Connor is a splitting image of daryl and he acts just like him that it's almost scary. Elaina has his eyes, but favors me. Carl is 17 now. I remember when I first met him he was 10. He was my reason for living and is still a a main reason. Our promise still stands. Rick has made quite the little society in this prison. He's an amazing grandfather and father. Sure he's a lot more uptight and over protective now, but can you blame him? After tom's group, I don't trust anyone and I'm crazy protective over Connor and elaina. Connor has been begging to go hunting with daryl which I was completely against. I didn't want him out of my sight, but daryl convinced me he'd have to learn sooner or later. In this world you probably won't make it to living to be old so you really never know what day your last is going to be. Glenn and Maggie got married also. Maggie and I are still as close as ever. Now I sit and watch elaina play with Judith in the courtyard worrying about my husband and son out hunting. I knew I could trust him with daryl, but a mother never stops worrying. Hearing my daughter laugh brings a huge smile to my face and makes life worth living. I sigh and felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. I look over and see Carl.

"hey shorty" he smirks.

i roll my eyes,"just because you're taller than me doesn't give you the right to call me names" I smile.

"you use to" he said.

"ya that's cause I'm older. Now respect you elders squirt" I joked elbowing him in the gut.

he immediately let go of me and grunted,"hey not fair"

i laughed,"that's what ya get for callin me shorty"

he smiled and I heard elaina scream,"daddy!"

i turned and and saw Connor and daryl entering the gates with elaina running up to daryl with her hands stretched out for him. He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tightly. I smiled. Daryl has been an amazing father. They started walking to me and when they reached me daryl leaned down and gave me a kiss with elaina still in his arms and Connor walking beside him,

"hi"

"hey" he smiled.

thats another thing, daryl actually smiles now. I looked down at Connor,

"hey bud! How was hunting!"

"it was awesome!" He smiled excitedly.

"that's great! Did you catch anything?" I asked.

"no." He responded sadly,"but I did get to kill a walker! It was awesome!" He perked up.

my smile immediately fell and I took a quick glance at daryl and back to my son,

"you did huh?" I asked worriedly.

"ya, dad helped me but I killed him all by myself." He smiled proudly.

this really worried me. I didn't want any walkers near my kids at all. I looked to daryl kinda pissed. He knew how I felt about it. He sighed and set elaina down next to Connor,

"guys go play with Judith"

"ok! Come on Connor!" Elaina smiled pulling Connor back out to the court yard.

once they were away, I crossed my arms over my chest. Daryl sighed,

"alright before ya get all mad.." He started to say but I cut him off,

"you let a walker get close to him! Daryl I've talked to you about this! I don't want them any where near those things!" I whisper yelled.

"I kno, but I had it by its arms and cut off its jaw. It couldn't bite or scratch him" he said.

"I don't care daryl! He is 5 years old! He shouldn't be worrying about that, he should be worrying about being a kid" I said.

"well being a kid in this world involves that. Plus I learned how to survive when I was younger than him" he said.

"you didn't have a choice" I snapped.

"ya well neither does he, he's gotta learn sometime or else he won't know what to do" he said.

"ya well while I'm here he'll never have to worry about that" I said.

"who knows how long that'll be" he grunted.

i looked at him shocked he said that," thanks for the confidence in me daryl"

"look I'm sorry I didn't mean that, it's just ya gotta let em grow up. I know you're scared, hell so am I. And while I'm around nothing's gonna touch them or you. You can count on that, I just want em to be ready" he said.

"I know. I just want them to have as normal as a childhood that they can without having to constantly worry" I sighed.

"unfortunately they don't have that decision." He said.

i sighed and leaned in to kiss him," I know. I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just an overprotective mother I guess"

he smiled," it's alright, it suits ya. But being stressed gives ya wrinkles"

"great" I whined.

"come to think of it, I think I see a few" he joked.

i playfully hit him on the chest,"fuck you"

"when and where" he smiled.

i rolled my eyes,"wow dixon"

he chuckled and leaned to whisper in my ear,"tonight, guard tower, don't be late" and he walked away leaving me blushing.


	3. Brave

It was getting late and I needed to put the kids to bed. Yea sure it was a little earlier than normal, but I was meeting daryl in the guard tower tonight so I was anxious. I started walking up the steps when I heard them yelling.

"not fair!" Elaina yelled.

i rolled my eyes and walked into my cell to see Connor and elaina playing tic tac to on mine and Carl's wall. Carl and I really don't write things on it anymore. It's been taken over by the twins. Their heads turned to me and elaina whined,

"mommy Connor cheated!"

"did not!" Connor yelled.

"did too!" Elaina whined.

"did not! Mom she's lying!" He whined.

i chuckled. They reminded me of Justin and I when we were little.

"What's so funny mommy?" Elaina asked.

"you two remind me of me and my brother when we were little" I smiled sadly.

"you and uncle Carl?" Connor asked.

"no sweetie" I sighed,"his name was Justin"

"where is he?" Elaina asked.

i sighed and sat down on my cot. Both of them ran up and sat on both sides of me,"he went to heaven"

"why?" Connor asked.

"he did a very brave thing. He saved me" I whispered trying to hold back the tears.

"like uncle Merle did for daddy?" Elaina asked.

"ya" I sniffled, smiling at her.

I then pulled my locket over my head and opened it. Both of them looked at the pictures in them,

"whos that?" Elaina asked.

"that's your uncle Justin and your grandma and grandpa" I said.

"that doesn't look like grandpa" Connor said.

i sighed and looked at him. Both of my kids were way too smart to be 5 year olds.

" it's your other grandparents. They are in heaven too" I smiled sadly.

"do you miss your mommy and daddy?" Elaina asked.

"everyday" I whispered closing the locket.

"are you crying mommy?" Connor asked.

i looked at him and wiped a tear, smiling" I'm fine sweety"

"What you still doing up?" We heard another voice.

we looked up and saw daryl leaning on the entrance to our cell. I smiled and elaina said,

"mommys telling us about uncle Justin!"

daryl looked at me and arched an eyebrow.i smiled sadly and he said,

"did she?"

"ya she said he went to heaven cause he was brave and he saved her!" Connor smiled.

"he was very brave" daryl said walking to us.

I smiled,"alright kids tell daddy goodnight" I said getting up.

they got up off the bed and ran to daryl. He bent down and kissed both of them and walked to their cell that was right next door to ours. I started to walk past daryl when he caught my arm. I looked at him and he asked,

"you alright?"

i wiped another tear, smiled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed me and whispered in my ear,

"guard tower. 15 minutes"

i smiled,"I'll be right there. I'm gonna tuck em in"

he nodded and I walked past him when I felt a smack on my butt. I gasped and turned back to daryl who just smirked and walked away. I chuckled and walked into the kids cell. They were already in their beds. I walked over to elaina and kissed her forehead,

"goodnight sweetheart"

"night mommy" elaina smiled.

i then walked to Connors cot and did the same thing,"night sweety"

"mommy?" He asked.

"yes?" I asked.

"are you mad at me?" He asked.

i looked at him both shocked and confused. I walked over and sat in the side of his bed,"no why would you think that?"

"cause you weren't happy when I killed that walker. And I heard you and daddy fighting about it" he whispered

I sighed," sweety no I'm not mad at all. It's just you're so little and I want to keep you safe"

"I want to be brave like daddy and like uncle Justin" he whispered.

"sweetheart you are very brave just like them. You are my brave little boy and I just worry, I'm your mother, it's my job." I whispered running a hand through his hair.

"you don't have to worry mommy cause I'm gonna protect you and sissy just like daddy does" he smiled.

"I know you will. Now get some rest I'll see you tomorrow. I love you" I bent down kissing his forehead.

"goodnight mom",he said closing his eyes.

i smiled and walked to the entrance of the cell. I turned and looked back at the twins and walked out. I quickly ran up to the guard tower. It was dark so I almost tripped going up the steps. I opened the door to it and seen a few flashlights stood up for light. Daryl smirked when he saw me and walked to me. He wrapped his hands around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck. He smiled,

"I know it's not candles, but it's close enough"

"it's perfect" I smiled.

he leaned in and kissed me and I kissed back. Things got heated from there. When we finished that night, I cuddled into daryls chest listening to his heart beat. I felt him rubbing circles on my back. I let out a deep sigh thinking about the talk I had with the kids earlier. Daryl must've read my mind cause he asked,

"So what was that about earlier with the kids?"

i sighed,"they were asking about them"

i heard him sigh,"you alright?"

"yea it just scares me" I whispered.

he stopped rubbing circles on my bare back and he lifted my head to look at him,

"why are you scared?"

"I had a talk with Connor. He wants to be brave just like his daddy which terrifies me" I whispered.

"you're scared he's gonna be like me?" He asked.

"no not at all. I actually hope he turns out just like you because I know he would be able to take care of himself and his sister if anything ever happens to us. I just don't want to lose my little boy" I sighed.

"why do you do this to yourself." He sighed.

"do what?" I asked.

he bent down and kissed my head,"you worry too much. You need to stop and just let things happen. We aren't going anywhere and neither are they alright?"

i nodded and and set my head back on his chest and quickly fell asleep to the sound of his heart beat.


	4. Responsibilities

**A month later daryl's pov**

i woke up early like normal. Kayla was still asleep wrapped in my arms. This happened every morning. It was a cool morning and It was probably around July. Kayla's birthday was July 15th and since I don't know the exact date I was planning on celebrating it tommorrow. Rick and everyone is on board with my plan, but I had to get her something. I gently kissed her sleeping head and softly unwrapped my arm from her waist. I tried to not wake her up, but she turned to me and fluttered open her eyes.

"morning" she yawned.

"hey didn't mean to wake ya" I whispered softly kissing her.

she smiled and kissed back. I got up and put a shirt on and slipped into my boots.

"Where ya goin?" She asked sleepily.

i looked up at her. She had already closed her eyes again," goin huntin. Be back soon, imma take Connor"

"ok just be careful" she yawned.

i smirked and leaned down to kiss her forehead again and whispered,"always am"

she hummed and I walked out of the cell into the one next to ours. I stopped and smiled at our sleeping kids. I use to never think I would have kids, let alone a woman who would want me enough to have em with. I walked over and kissed elaina on the head softly and then walked over to Connor. I lightly patted him on the head. He quickly shot up and asked,

"ow! dad?"

i chuckled,"come on boy we're goin huntin"

a huge smile spread across his face and he quickly jumped up and got dressed. As soon as he was done he grabbed my hand and we walked outside. Once we got into the woods he asked,

"what are we hunting for dad?"

"we ain't. There's this store a little ways away, we're goin there." I said.

"why?" He asked.

"your mamma's birthday is tomorrow, gotta get her something"I said.

"ok!" He exclaimed.

once we arrived to the store I raised my crossbow and looked down at my son,"ya stay behind me"

he nodded and we started in. I kicked in the door and aimed my bow in all directions. I quickly checked all the aisles and the back to make sure it was secure. It was. I slowly lowered my crossbow and turned to tell Connor it was alright, but when I turned my heart stopped. I froze and began to wasn't behind me anymore and was no where to be seen.

 **kaylas pov**

I woke up about an hour after daryl left and walked to check on elaina. She was just waking up. i smiled and bent down to her,

"good morning baby"

"morning mommy" she smiled.

she looked over to Connors bunk and saw him missing,"where's Connor?"

"him and daddy went hunting, they should be back soon" I smiled helping her into her day clothes.

"why doesn't dad ever take me hunting?" She asked.

i sighed,"cause he wants to keep you safe"

"ya but he takes Connor" she whined.

"he's more protective over us. He won't let me go either." I smiled.

"why?" She asked.

"cause we're girls" I chuckled.

"but I'm brave too! I can be brave just like Connor" she whined.

she seemed really sad about not being able to go. Daryl did put more responsibility on Connor and taught him more things. She needs to be taught just as much as him, but I was hesitant with her. I sighed and took off my locket,

"I know you are. Here" I said placing the locket around her neck, "I want you to take care of this for me. No matter what, protect it. I trust ya to be brave and keep it safe"

she smiled widely,"I will! No one will touch it! Not even Connor!"

I smiled and laughed as she quickly ran down the stairs seeing Judith. She was showing her the locket I gave her and was proud of her new responsibility. I walked down the stairs after her and Rick saw me, smiling and walking up to me. He hugged me and said,

"morning"

"morning" I smiled.

"where's daryl and Connor?" He asked.

"went hunting" I sighed.

he nodded and elaina ran up to Rick,"grandpa!"

rick smiled and scooped her up in his arms,"hey sweety"

"look what momma gave me! I have to keep it safe!" She smiled showing him my locket.

he looked at it and back to me. I smiled at him and he smiled back to elaina,

"that's awesome! You keep that safe now! That's a real important necklace"

"I know!" She smiled

he kissed her forehead one last time and set her down. She ran to Judith and he looked back at me,

"that's a big step"

" i know, but she was upset that daryl gives Connor responsibility by taking him with him when he hunts. It was the least I could do." I smiled.

he smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder,"She know about em?"

"yea. Told her and Connor last night." I sighed.

he squeezed my shoulder and said,"you turned out to be a great mother. I know they are proud"

"thanks dad" I smiled.


	5. Polaroid

**Daryls pov**

i ran as fast as I could through the store, looking down every aisle. My heart was pounding as I couldn't find my son.

"Connor!" I yelled.

nothing.

i ran back to the front of the store and looked there. I swear imma get wip lash from searchin as fast as I was.

"Connor!" I yelled again.

"dad!" I heard.

my heart stopped and I made my way to where I heard him. His voice wasn't urgent, but I ran as fast as I could,

"where are ya!"

"over here!" He yelled.

i quickly aimed my crossbow, ready for whatever happened. His voice was coming from the photo shop. I lowered my crossbow when I saw him looking at a small poloroid camera. I let out a sigh of relief as I went up to him,

"the hell did ya not understand when I said stay behind me?"

"I'm sorry daddy" he whispered looking up.

"I swear ya are just like your mother" I said.

"how?" He asked.

"don't listen to a damn thing you're told" I said.

it was almost impossible for me to be mad at him right now. I was so thankful he wasn't hurt and it scared the hell out of me when I turned and he wasn't there. I sighed and bent down to his level,

"ya scared me."

"But I thought you didn't get scared?" He asked.

"what makes you think I don't get scared?" I asked.

"cause you're brave" he whispered.

"Being brave don't mean ya don't get scared sometimes." I said.

he nodded and said,"sorry dad"

i kissed his forehead,"it's alright. Just don't do it again or you'll stay at the prison next time"

he quickly nodded and turned back to the camera. I looked at what he was looking at and he asked,

"what's this?"

"it's a camera" I said.

"what's it do?" He asked.

"takes pictures" I said.

"like the one in moms necklace?" He asked.

"ya" I said grabbing it.

i messed with it for a minute and then turned it facing him,"smile"

he looked at me confused, but smiled and I snapped the picture. It clicked and printed it as I grabbed it. He watched in amazement. I shook the picture till it appeared and showed it to him. He took it and smiled widely,

"do ya think mom would like it for her birthday?"

"I think she would" I said standing up,"go ahead and grab it. That'll be from you and your sister"

he nodded and took the camera from me with one hand and grabbed ahold of my hand with his other. I led him to the jewelry department. I let go of his hand and looked at the cases with necklaces in em. I still wasn't good with this shit. I had a hard enough time pickin out her wedding ring. My eyes gazed over the jewelry till I came across one that looked like an arrow with the top bein a heart. I grabbed it and held it infront of my face to get a better look. She'd like it right? I looked over to Connor and showed him the necklace,

"ya think she'll like it?"

he looked at it and nodded.

"Alright" I said and stuffed it into my pocket grabbing his hand again,"common lets get back. Yer mothers probably worried sick"

he nodded and we made our way back to the prison.

 **The next day Kayla's pov**

daryl and Connor got back late last night. I swear they love making me a nervous wreck. When I woke up this morning I wasn't surprised at all to see daryl not there. Just once I would enjoy waking up to him, but that's what ya get when yer married to a hunter. I sighed and walked into the kids cell. They weren't there either. My heart started to pound and I quickly ran downstairs where I was greeted by the group. They were all smiling at me. I arched an eyebrow when Connor and elaina ran up to me hugging my legs,

"happy birthday!"

i smiled down at them and looked back up to see Rick and Carl walking up to me. they each engulfed me in a hug and Connor and elaina ran by daryl. I was shocked. Daryl smirked at my expression and he walked up next kissing me on the lips,

"happy birthday"

"daryl..how...what..." I asked surprised.

"July 15th. Wouldn't forget it" he smirked.

"daddy can we give mommy the present now?" Elaina asked.

he smirked down at her and nodded. Connor ran up next to her and said,"mom close your eyes"

i did did as I was told and felt something placed in my hands. I opened my eyes and saw I was holding a poloroid camera. I looked at daryl shocked. Where did they find this! I turned back to my kids,

"this is perfect! Thank you both so much' I kissed both of them on the heads.

daryl grabbed my hand and then looked at Rick. Rick and Carl nodded and said,

"come on guys, let's go out in the yard"

carl scooped up elaina and Rick grabbed Connors hand as they left. I looked back at daryl and said,

"you never cease to amaze me dixon"

he smiled and started digging in his pocket. He then pulled out a necklace. I starred at it wide eyed. It was beautiful.

"daryl" I gasped.

"turn around" he said.

i nodded and turned as he slid the necklace in for me. He turned me back around and I starred down at the diamond heart arrow,

"it's perfect"

"you deserve it" he whispered.


	6. Selfies

**A few days later Kayla's pov**

i watched smiling as Connor and elaina played tag in the courtyard. I had been putting the camera to good use and probably took hundreds of the kids. Actually I probably had pictures of everyone except daryl. He never let me take one of him. He said I didn't need it. Daryl was on about hunting, but didn't take Connor this time. I looked over and saw Rick and Carl by the garden. I smiled and walked over to em,

" well if this isn't a photo op I don't know what is" I laughed.

"you think everything is a photo op" Carl laughed.

" I know" I smiled and turned, pulling the camera out infront of us," say cheese!"

Rick came on one side of me and Carl on the other and I snapped th picture. It printed and I shook it until the image showed. I smiled at it and Carl said,

"it's the end of the world and you're takin selfies"

i smiled," sure am"

i then threw my camera to Rick and said,"Carl come on"

he looked confused,"what?"

"gonna teach you to drive" I smiled

he quickly perked up and ricks expression was priceless. I laughed at his worried face," come on dad! Dont give me that face."

he shook his head,"it's your funeral"

"hey!" Carl snapped while Rick and I both laughed.

I grabbed Carl's hand and ran to one of our trucks. He got in and started it up.

"Seatbelt" I said.

he rolled his eyes,"come on Kay it's not like we're gonna get pulled over"

"I'm not too sure. I mean we are being watched by a cop"'I joked.

he rolled his eyes and I said, "seriously Carl seat belt"

he groaned and put it on,"happy?"

i smiled and nodded,"alright now shift it into drive and barely tap the gas"

he did as he was told and started driving around the courtyard. Nice and slow at first and then I had him speed it up. I taught him how to reverse and everything. Once our lesson was done I said,

"alright let's switch"

"but you already know how to drive" he said.

i smirked and opened the door,"just do it"

i heard him him groan and we switched seats. Once I was in the drivers seat, we put on our seat belts and I shifted the truck into four wheel drive. I smirked devilishly at Carl,

"you may wanna hold on"

he gave me a nervous smile at first and held onto his seat as I slammed on the gas. I started doing donuts in the yard. All I could hear were the sounds of Carl and I laughing. This was awesome! Once we had our fun, I parked the truck and we walked back up to Rick. He smirked,

"how'd I know something like that was going to happen"

"come on dad we gotta have fun" I laughed.

he handed me my camera and a few pictures. I took them and looked to see he took pics of us in the truck. I smiled at him and hugged him tightly when Maggie came running out of the prison,

"guys! Come quick!"

rick and I looked at each other worriedly and ran inside after her. We followed her to the cafeteria where Beth and carol had been messing with an old radio we found.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rick asked worried.

"We heard voices" Beth exclaimed as carol was messing with it trying to find them I guess.

"what did it say?" I jumped when I heard daryl behind me. He had both kids in his arms. When did he even get back? I smiled at him and then directed my attention back to Beth.

Thats when we heard it. It was muffled, but it was definitely voices. Carol messed with it some more when we finally heard it loud and clear,

"this is an important message to all survivors. If you are hearing this make your way as quickly as you can to fort mason. I repeat fort mason."

we all looked at each other. Some had skeptical looks and others were excited.

"fort mason?" Glenn asked.

"I've heard of it, it's an old army base" Hershel said.

"should we go?" Carol asked.

"I don't know" Maggie protested.

"we have a good setup here" Carl said.

"ya but there are more survivors! Maybe they found a cure! Maybe it's safer" carol said.

we all turned to Rick who had a stern face. He looked at us,

"no. We stay here"

"why?" Beth asked.

"Carl's right, we have a good thing going here and it may be a trap" he said.

"or it could be the army trying to reach out to survivors to help us" carol butted in.

"look let's sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow" I said before it got too heated.

everyone seemed to agree there and daryl and I put the kids to bed. After that I walked into our cell and put all the pictures I took today into a backpack that I was keeping every picture I took in. I sighed and looked over to daryl who was taking off his shirt and laying down. I slipped out of my boots and pulled on some sweat pants as I made my way over and laid my down next to him with my head in his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I traced the tattoo of my name he had on his chest with my finger. It gave me butterflies remembering that day in the tattoo parlor. I sighed,

"so what do you think of fort mason?"

"don't know. I don't trust anything anymore" he sighed.

"sounds too good to be true if ya ask me" I whispered.

"whatever it is and whatever decision the group makes, I'm gonna make sure you and the kids are safe" he whispered.

i smiled,"you always do"

"I trust ricks opinion so whenever he decides, that's when we'll deal with it" he said.

I looked up at him and asked,"how come I can't take your picture with the camera?"

"don't need to" he said.

"sure I don't need to, but I want to" I whispered.

"don't need a picture of me babe. Ain't going anywhere" he said kissing my head.

"I know but please" I begged.

he sighed,"fine"

i smiled and reached for my camera and held it above us. He turned to me and kissed my cheek as I took it. I smiled in success As it came to.

"leave it to ya to be in a zombie apocalypse and take damn selfies" he muttered.

"Ya sound like Carl" I smirked.

"kid gets smarter eveyday" he whispered.

i playfully rolled my eyes and lay my head back on his chest quickly falling asleep. 


	7. Throw it away

**Daryls pov**

i smiled when I woke up this morning seeing kayla snuggled into my neck. I felt her slow breaths on my neck and it gave me goosebumps. I loved watching her sleep, it was like there wasn't a care in the world. No worries, no anything. It was a beautiful thing. I smiled at her and saw the picture she took of us last night still in her hand. I gently slid it out of her grasp and looked at it. It made me smile more actually being able to see both of us happy for once. I would do anything to keep that smile on her face. I set the picture back in her hand and reached over to grab the polaroid. I aimed it at her and snapped the picture thinking I was being sneaky, but when it printed it out she woke up.

"what are ya doing?" She asked sleepily.

"nothin" I smirked.

her eyes were fully opened now and she saw the camera in my hands,"did you just take a picture of me?"

I grunted,"don't worry about it"

she rolled her eyes and snapped the picture out of my hands and looked at it,"o wow I look terrible" she chuckled.

i snatched it back,"no ya don't."

"throw it away daryl" she laughed.

"nah I'm gonna keep it" I smirked and kissed her head.

"come on! It's a terrible picture" she whined.

"impossible, ya ain't capable of takin a bad one" I smirked and got out of the bed.

"where ya goin?" She asked.

"Where ya think?" I asked.

"Glenn and I are goin through the tombs to get some more medical supplies, be back in a few hours" I whispered.

"alright, be careful" she smiled sitting up in the bed.

i slid on my shirt and a new pair of pants, putting my crossbow on my back. I slid the picture of her into one of my pockets and kissed her,"I'll be back before ya can miss me"

"so in like 5 seconds?" She chuckled.

i rolled my eyes,"shut up"

"hey don't hesitate to accidentally lose that picture down there" she smirked.

"hell nah, I'm keepin this baby at all times." I smiled.

i heard her groan and I chuckled shaking my head, walking out of the cell. China man was already waitin for me by the door and we entered the tombs.

 **kaylas pov**

i stretched my arms over my head as daryl left. Why does he love that damn picture so much? I swear I'll get rid of it somehow. I chuckled, got dressed and checked on the twins. They were both still asleep so I walked downstairs and out to the courtyard. The morning breeze blew through my hair and it sent chills down my spine. I looked down by the gates and saw a lot of walkers clawing at the gate. It was like they were multiplying. We would have to do something about that soon. I looked around the court yard and saw Rick down by the garden. I sighed and walked over to him,

"hey"

he stopped what he was doing and looked up at me,"hey"

he wiped his hands off with a cloth in his back pocket and walked next to me. He had a look of distraught on his face.

"you alright?" I asked.

he sighed,"you think I'm makin the right decision?"

"bout what?" I asked.

"not goin to fort mason" he sighed.

"why? You doubting yourself?" I asked.

he looked out towards the gate,"carol seems to think its a good place"

"she come talk to you?" I asked.

"ya she thinks I'm being selfish. Not making the right decision for the group" he sighed.

"dad listen to me. You are anything but selfish. We wouldn't have made it this far without you. If she wants to go so bad let her go, but one thing is for sure daryl and I will always stand by you. And I'm pretty sure the others will too." I said sternly.

He turned and looked back to me,"thanks"

i smiled and nodded as the moans of the undead got louder. We both looked out to the fences.

"We're gonna have to do something about that. The gate ain't gonna hold" I whispered.

"it's like they keep comin" he whispered.

"they're multiplying everyday" I sighed.

"we'll start takin em out tomorrow." He said and placed an arm on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. A few hours later daryl and Glenn got back and came into the cafeteria area. I was sitting with the twins. Daryl came up behind me and kissed the top of my head, he ruffled Connors hair, and picked elaina up sitting next to me with her on his lap.

"you find anything?" I asked.

"few more bandages, other than that no" he sighed.

i nodded and saw Glenn walk outside to go on watch with Maggie.

"Ya lose that picture yet?" I asked.

"nope" he smirked pulling it out of his pocket.

"dammit dixon, I promise ya you're gonna wake up one day and it'll be mysteriously gone" I sighed.

"not if it's in my pocket at all times" he said.

i leaned in and whispered in his ear,"wouldn't be the first time I had to get in your pants to get something I wanted"

i pulled away and he was blushing bright red causing me to laugh. He rolled his eyes,"shut up"  
It was all calm and everything seemed as normal as it could be until Maggie ran inside. Daryl and I froze when she screamed,

"A herd tore the gates down! Walkers are everywhere!"


	8. Retreat!

"Connor take you sister and run to your cell! Do not come out until me or your dad come and get you!" I yelled.

they nodded and he grabbed Elaine's hand, running upstairs. Daryl and Rick had already run outside with the others.i quickly ran outside and saw the herd.i froze. This herd was double the size of the one at the farm. I watched as daryl and everyone was trying to shoot them down, but there was too many. Rick looked back and saw me,

"kayla!"

"dad!" I yelled.

I heard moans from behind me and saw a huge group of more walkers walking towards me. I looked back terrified. I froze, I couldn't move. I was snapped out of my trance when Rick had grabbed my arm shooting down as many as he could,

"we have to retreat!"

I nodded and pulled out my gun and quickly ran back Inside running up to the cell. I grabbed everything we had in our bags and ran to the twins. They were sitting in the corner shaking.

"Ok I need you guys to be brave ok?" I asked.

they both nodded. I smiled,"alright grab your bags. We have to go"

they quickly swung their bags on their backs and grabbed onto my hands. I led them back outside. The whole scene was out of a horror movie. There was so much gunfire and smoke, along with the thousands of undead growling. I heard elaina scream and I quickly looked over and saw a walker walking towards us. I let go of Connors hand and shot it down, quickly grabbing his hand again. My eyes scanned the whole yard in panic. Everyone was retreating to cars, but where was daryl? My worries subsided when I heard the beautiful sound of his bike. I scooped elaina up and and dragged Connor toward the sound.

"Daryl!" I screamed hoping he heard me.

"kayla!" He yelled over his bike.

He finally saw us and drove to us, "come on hurry up!"

i sat Elaina down and then helped Connor on behind her. Then I realized there was no more room for me and walkers were starting to close in. I took a deep breath and looked at my kids. I knew I wasn't gonna make it. They would have daryl so it would be ok. For them to have any chance,i would have to lead the walkers away. I looked at them and felt tears in my eyes. I quickly handed Connor my bag and kissed them each on their heads hard. I then looked to daryl,

"kayla what the hell ya doing? Get on!" He yelled over the gunfire.

i felt a tear escape my eyes and I grabbed his face and forcefully kissed him. I pulled away quickly and whispered,

"I love you. Take care of them"

before he could do anything I ran hearing him scream,"kayla! No!"

"Daryl go!" I yelled back.

"mommy!" Elaina screamed.

i run into a herd of walkers. Atleast sacrificing myself would save my family. I pushed past walkers and screamed,

"come on ya son of bitches!"

they turned to me and started off towards me. I heard the sound of his bike drive away. I smiled, they were safe and getting out of here. I ran as fast as I could through the woods with walkers behind me. I gained some distance on em and found a tree, climbing up it. I watched as the herd chasing me passed the tree. About an hour later there was dead silence. No noise at all and it was very disturbing. I lie on the branch of the tree and started to cry. I was alone and I'd probably never see my family again.


	9. Ain't dead

**Daryl's pov**

"kayla no!" I yelled as I watched her run into a herd of walkers.

i tried to fight back the tears threatening to fall. My mouth instantly became dry and I started to shake. _Why would she do that! Why!_ Every urge in my body was telling me to go after her and I about listened to em when I heard her yell,

"daryl go!"

i looked down down at my bike and shook my head, fighting the tears that were falling and trying to regain my breathing. I felt the arms around me tighten and I looked back at my two horrified kids.

"Mommy!" Elaina yelled.

they were just as scared as I was. I watched as all the cars started to leave. Looking one last time in the direction kayla ran, hoping I would see her running back, I shook my head and with a heavy heart I started to drive after them. I heard the kids screaming for their mom. I drove as fast as I could fighting the tears that fell. It felt like hours until we all finally stopped back on the highway. I set the kickstand down and immediately scooped up both my crying kids. I tried to hide the fact that I was crying too because I needed to be strong for them, but inside I was a wreck. Everyone got out of their cars and reunited with everyone. I stayed where I was breathing heavily, holding the kids to me. The group noticed we hadn't moved and all formed a circle around us. Rick and Carl ran up and looked at me and around the group. Ricks eyes met mine as if asking me a question. I just nodded and I saw tears form I his eyes. I looked at Carl who's face paled and he hugged onto his dad. Maggie dropped Glenn's hand and gasped,

"no"

i looked at at her and watched as Glenn quickly wrapped his hands around her allowing her to cry into his chest. I felt a pang in my stomach, wishing I could hold my wife. But she was gone. I looked back to Rick who nodded with his head for me to follow him. I nodded and looked at carol,

"ey ya mind watchin em for a sec?"

"not at all" she smiled sympathetically.

i nodded and got out of the twins grasp, but elaina gripped back onto my leg. I looked down at her and shook her off. The look of hurt in her eyes killed me but I just couldn't care right now. I walked over to Rick and he asked,

"what happened?"

"I don't know. She put the kids on my bike and then just ran into the damn herd like an idiot" I spat.

he sighed,"she sacrificed herself."

"She what?" I spat.

"she sacrificed herself so you and the kids could get out of there"he whispered hurt,"it's the same thing Lori did for Judith"

"why the hell would she do tht!"I yelled fighting back tears.

"to protect you" he whispered.

"that ain't her damn job! She needed to protect the kids not me!" I whispered pissed.

"she did. She did everything any loving mother and wife would do. Protect her family even if it meant she wouldn't survive" he whimpered.

i froze and my blood ran cold, a new sort of anger ran through me,"she ain't dead"

"daryl.." He sighed.

"she ain't. No one saw er go down. She's tough, she's fast she could've made it out" I said icely.

"daryl it's not likely" he whispered.

"Im Going to find her" I said.

"what about the kids? They need their dad daryl, they just lost their mom." He said sternly."you may never find her"

i looked at him pissed off,"I'm gonna find her. I've gone through thinkin she was dead 3 other times, ain't gonna let it be a fourth."

he sighed,"I know I can't stop ya and I'm not going to stop you, but think about those kids. They need you just about as much as they needed her. But I know you need to do this. Just wait till morning and then head out. I'll keep an eye on em"

i nodded and and turned to walk back to the twins. It had gotten darker and carol had them both asleep. I nodded in thanks and picked them both up softly laying them against my chest. I looked down at them both sleeping and felt something in my pocket. I reached inside and felt something, pulling it out, my breathing hitched when it was the picture. The picture of kayla sleeping. I looked at it and then back to elaina, she was a spitting image of her mother. I couldn't take it anymore, a tear fell. In order to be able to find her, I had to make a choice that I might never see my kids again. No I couldn't think like that. I brought the picture to my lips and whispered,

"I'm gonna find you. I promise"

 **kaylas pov**

i gathered up enough wood to make a fire. It started getting chilly and my flannel and shorts weren't exactly warm. I sighed and sat up against a tree starring into the flame. I was alone and it was worse than being dead. I didn't know if my family was alive or not. Not having daryls arms around me made me feel completely vulnerable. Not being able to kiss my kids goodnight left me empty. Was it even worth living alone? I was scared, cold, and dead inside. I was a broken woman. I sighed and stretched feeling something fall out of my shorts pocket. I looked down at the forest floor that the object fell on. I bent down picked it up and immediately started crying as I looked at it. It was the picture of me and daryl. The only picture we had together. I started shaking and my heart was shattered into a million peices. The odds of me ever finding my family were very slim, but it was like this picture was a sign. I had to stay alive for my family and for daryl I had to fight.i had to find them. I quickly fell asleep holding onto the picture. I woke up the next morning when I heard leaves snap. I quickly rose to my feet and pulled out my dads gun pointing it into the direction I heard the noise. I started to shake when they came out of the woods, but it wasn't the dead. It was the living. I glared at the group of men as they looked at me up and down with wide eyes. The leader of the man smirked, didn't take his eyes off of me, and said to his group,

"claimed"


	10. I'll find her

**Daryls pov**

I woke up before anybody else like always, but today was different. Elaina and Connor were still asleep so I softly got up setting them down on the ground. I got up and slung my crossbow on my shoulder and started packing up for my trip. I looked back over to my kids. A pang in my chest startled me, but I quickly shook it off. I had to keep focused. I sighed and saw a bag with our things that didn't look familiar. I picked it up and unzipped it. I reached in and pulled out the Polaroid Camera. I sighed and set it on the ground, reaching in again. There was a bunch of little papers. I pulled some out and saw it was a bunch of pictures. _Damn that girl took a lot_. I looked over them and pulled out one with her and the kids. They were making weird faces. I blinked back a few tears and smiled at the picture. I put the picture in my pocket next to the one of her asleep. I sighed and looked at the others. The next one was of her, Rick and Carl. She looked so happy and unafraid. A tear escaped my eyes and I quickly wiped it away.

"daddy?" A small voice asked.

i quickly turned and saw elaina rubbing her eyes. I just looked at her. My heart shattered because looking at her was like looking at kayla. A splitting image and it was killing me. I quickly forced a smile and walked over to her bending down to her height,

"hey sweetheart"

"why are you crying daddy?" She asked.

"I'm not" I said.

"but your eyes are red. Is it because of mommy?" She asked.

i sighed,"no I'm ok"

"dad is mommy gone?" She asked.

i looked at her deep in her blue eyes. Those eyes were the only thing she got from me. I shook my head,

"no she's not gone. I'm gonna find her and bring her home"

"can I go with you?" She asked.

"no I need ya to stay here and take care of Connor, keep him out of trouble. Ya listen to yer grandpa ok?" I said.

she sighed,"will you come back?"

"ya I ain't ever leavin you." I said looking down to Kayla's locket she had around her neck.

"I'm scared daddy" she whispered.

The determination inside me grew. Not only did I need to find her for me, but for them. They needed her just as bad, hell, if not more. I picked up the locket part,

"You see this necklace? This necklace means yer brave. Yer a fighter just like yer momma. You can do this Lainey, yer my strong little girl alright?"

Tears spilt down her face as she nodded. I nodded and stood up kissing her on her forehead. I fought back the tears again and walked away. People were starting to wake up now. I grabbed my bag and heard someone behind me,

"hey"

i turned and and saw Rick and Maggie.

i nodded and threw the bag over my shoulder next to my crossbow.

"You about to head out?" He asked.

"ya. Just said bye to the kids, ya gonna keep en eye on em right?" I asked.

maggie nodded,"of course"

"keep em safe." I said sternly.

Maggie nodded and ran up to me, hugging me. I flinched at first and didn't hug back because of how surprised I was.

"Bring her back" she whispered.

i nodded and she walked back to Glenn. I looked at Rick who looked worried and strained,

"in a day we are headed to fort mason so if ya come back here and we are gone, ya know where to meet us"

I nodded,"thanks"

"when you find her, you bring her back safe" he said seriously. I nodded and then I heard what sounded like chopping and someone yelling in frustration.

rick and I both turned and saw Carl throwing his knife forcefully into a tree. I arched an eyebrow and Rick sighed, pinching his nose.

""what's up with him?" I asked.

"he's been like that since she didn't come back. He won't talk to no one. Not Connor, elaina, judith. I've tried but he just yells" he sighed.

i nodded and patted his back,"take care of em"

he nodded," you both come back alive"

i nodded and and walked over to Carl. If he noticed me, he didn't act like it and continued stabbing his knife forcefully into the tree.

"What that tree ever do to you?" I asked like a smart ass.

he turned to me breathing heavily. His cheeks were red and eyes were puffy. I have never seen him like this,

"what do you want? Dad send ya over?" He asked pissed.

"nah, imma bout ta leave" I said.

"why?" He asked grabbing his knife out of the bark.

"gonna find er" I said.

"Shouldn't waist your time" he snickered

He turned but didn't look at me. It shocked me the response he gave me. He wasn't like this and it kinda pissed me off,

"why the hell ya talkin like that?"

"cause it's pointless! She's gone and she's never coming back! And you won't either and those kids will be without parents and we will have to take care of em!" He spat.

that got me pissed,"don't you dare say that to me! You think she'd want to hear ya sayin stuff like that!" I spat back.

"she ain't here! And she's never coming back! She's gone!" He cried.

i froze and watched as he broke down into tears looking at me panting,"I promised I would protect her and the twins! I didn't and now she's gone! She's dead! We both broke our promises daryl! She said she'd be here forever and she's not and it's all because of me!"

i stepped slowly infront of him,"you listen to me. It ain't yer fault or no ones fault alright? She did what she did to protect Connor and elaina. We're in the same boat here and I know how yer feelin. She ain't dead and when I find er I'm gonna bring er back. She's strong. She's a stubborn ,idiotic, hotheaded woman that we both love. She ain't gonna give up"

he looked at me defeated and with tears streaming down his face. He was broken, but he finally nodded. I patted his shoulder and dug into my pocket. I pulled out the picture of him and Rick with her and placed it in his hands. I heard him whimper and I whispered,

"I'll find her"


	11. The claimed can't claim

**Kayla's pov**

i lay on the old car garage floor as my tears fall onto the cold, hard ground. I hate this place, I'd rather be dead than be with this group. Any hope now of ever seeing my family again is completely gone. These men won't let me out of their sight for even a second. I've been claimed by the leader of this group named joe. Apparently to own something, you must shout claimed and than no one else can do anything about it. You break the rules and you pay dearly. I tried to explain to the man I was trying to find my husband and kids and his exact words were,

 _"ya better forget about them sweetheart, you're mine now"_

everyone was asleep now except for me. Joe laying next to me snoring. I silently whimper trying to think of any way to get out of this, but I couldn't do it. I started playing with my wedding ring that I kept hidden in my pocket. If joe sees it, he'll take it. Feeling the metal in my hand makes more silent tears fall. I want to be with daryl. I want to hold my kids. I want to feel safe, but that is all over. What's worse is the only picture I ever had of me and daryl was gone. I had dropped it when I first met the claimers and I could never go back to get it. The next morning I heard the guys get up so I quickly slid my ring back in my pocket and got up myself. The claimers were planning on going hunting. I stuck by joe like I was told to, but I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up and saw Len across from me starring me down like I was a piece of meat. He licked his lips and I averted eye contact. A lot of these men looked at me like this, Len being the worst, but they haven't seen a woman in a while and that was the only thing I was thankful for being claimed. That meant none of them could touch me. Today I got to go on the hunt because joe was going. I sighed and walked next to him until we came to a clearing. Joe turned to his group,

"we'll hunt around here, kayla you come" he said.

i just nodded and followed behind joe while the men dispersed. I always kept my head to the ground. I hated looking at these men. I started feeling light headed and dizzy,

"you mind if I sit for a second? Feelin dizzy"

he looked back at me,"yea I'll hunt right here. You gettin sick or somethin?"

"no" I sighed and sat against a tree.

"you need to eat something woman, keep yer strength up. I need ya healthy" he smirked.

i rolled my eyes and he went to hunting. I brought my head to my knees and tried to regain consciousness. I hadn't eaten since the prison. I refused to. If I couldn't find my family and couldn't escape this group, I didn't want to live. I looked to make sure joe wasn't looking and took my ring out of my pocket. I slid it on my left finger where it was supposed to be and admired it. I imagined daryl's hand with his ring being right next to mine. A tear slipt from my eyes as I thought of the memory. I jumped when I heard,

"what the hell is that?"

i was instantly on my feet when I saw joe had returned and he was glaring at me. Fear overtook my body and I quickly slid my ring off my finger and hid it behind my back,

"nothing" I stuttered.

"you lyin sweetheart? Cause you know that's against the rules" he snarled.

my heart was pounding as I tried to control my breathing. The other group members encircled me and joe. I wasn't gonna win this,

"give it here" he said sticking his hand out.

i was shaking when he came and forcefully snatched my ring from my hands. I tried to think quickly. I couldn't lose the last thing that reminded me of daryl.

"This the ring that the man that left you for dead gave ya?" He asked.

i starred at him and didn't say anything. He chuckled,

"stupid woman. Ya won't be needing this anymore"

 _no. He couldn't take it_. I shook, but finally managed to get the words out, "claimed!"

he stopped chuckling and looked at me with an arched eyebrow,"what did you say?"

I looked around at the group of men that encircled us and back at joe. I took a deep breath and pointed at the ring,

"the ring. It's claimed"

joe looked at his men and then back to me. He started chuckling and walked up to me. I froze and my breathing hitched when he stood right infront of me,

"you've been claimed darlin. The claimed can't claim"

My eyes widened and he chuckled at my response along with the rest of the group. I watched as he threw the ring into hhe forest. I couldn't take it. I yelled,

"no!" And I tried to run in the direction he threw it.

He caught me and chuckled. I death glared him and then he stopped laughing. He snarled at me and slapped me right across the face with such force that I fell on the ground. He stood over me and said,

"that was a warning. If you ever try and defy me again you'll be taught a lesson"

i held onto my stinging cheek and he forced me up, dragging me behind him back to the garage. I looked back at the direction my ring was thrown. The last thing to bring me happiness and hope was gone. The last thing I had of daryl had been torn away from me. I had to end this.


	12. Ring

**Daryls pov**

it had been 3 days since I left camp to find her. 3 days since I've seen my kids. I wonder if they're alright. I know Rick and Maggie won't let anything happen to them. I hadn't been having much luck finding her. I started back at the prison and looked for tracks I could follow, unfortunately there were so many from the damn walkers that I couldn't find hers. I started in the way I'm sure she went and started to think like her. _If I was running from thousands of walkers where would I go?_ I followed a set of footprints for a while until one steered off infront of a tree and stopped. These weren't sloppy prints, they were normal like a human. i smirked knowing she had probably climbed this tree to get away from them. Hope to find her alive filled my body. I decided to set up camp here tonight. I built a small fire and set my crossbow down next to me. I layed down in the grass and pulled out the two pictures in my pocket and looked at em. The one of her sleeping and the one of her with the twins. I know she hated that picture of her, but if I didn't have it now, and I would've listened to her and let her get rid of it, I would have nothing. I wonder what Merle's thinkin up there right now. Hell he's probably cursin the ground I walk on for lettin her get away. I sighed and stuck the pictures back in my pocket, grabbed my crossbow and fell asleep. I woke up as a cool breeze gave me chills. I sat up quickly and surveyed my surroundings. There wasn't anything so I stood up and stomped out the fire. I threw on my leather jacket and as I did something caught my eye. Something was caught in a bush, a little white piece of paper. I arched an eyebrow, picked up my crossbow and walked over to it. I snatched it from the bush and quickly froze. My body started to shake and my breathing hitched, it was our picture. The picture she took of us that night in the cell. She had been here, maybe she wasn't far. I threw my crossbow over my shoulder, put the picture in my pocket with the others, and surveyed the ground looking for tracks. I found hers and what looked like a few others. Theses tracks were neat though so they belonged to humans, not the dead. I walked over a few more tracks and noticed what looked like a struggle. She was attacked by these people. My heart started racing and I quickly ran following the tracks. She could be in trouble and my heart was burning. The tracks stopped again. _Why! Where the hell did they go_! I was getting frustrated. I kicked a tree and threw my crossbow hard on the floor. _I wanted her back! I needed her back_! I fought a tear in my eye as I lay my head on the tree I just punched. I was trying to calm myself down when I heard a branch snap from behind me. I quickly grabbed my crossbow, aimed it, and turned to the noise breathing heavily. I froze when I saw a girl, hAd to be about 14 at the most with red hair and freckles all over her face. Her eyes had widened and she had her hands up in surrender, shaking. I studied the girl, she wasn't a threat, but I wasn't taking any chances,

"you bit?"

she just looked at me shaking and not answering my question. I was already annoyed so I spat again,

"I said are you bit!"

"no...no..." She stuttered silently.

"ya alone?" I spat again.

"yea I am" she whispered.

i studied the young girl one final time before I lowered my crossbow. I looked for any weapons she could be hiding, she had none. _Hell this girl was skin and bones, I'm surprised she survived this long._

"You got a name?" I asked. I know I was sounding rude, but I had more important things on my mind.

"daisy" she whispered.

i nodded,"daryl"

"you alone too?" She asked.

"nah" I snapped.

"where are the others?" She asked.

i just glared at her and she whispered,"I'm sorry I don't mean to be nosy. I've been alone for a long time and you're the first decent person I've come along in a while."

"I ain't decent."I grunted.

"you're better than this other group I escaped from" she whispered.

this caught my attention,"this other group?"

"yea it's a group of men, I stayed with them since the beginning, but I had to leave. They got rules and if you break em you get killed or beaten, they claim everything. Once something's been claimed, the others can't touch it. It was terrible" she said.

"if it was so terrible why the hell you stay with em so long?" I asked.

"the leader is my father" she stuttered.

i froze for a minute and shook my head,"look I ain't got time for this shit. I'm lookin for someone and I gotta go"

I started to walk away when I heard her tiny footsteps following me,"wait! Maybe I can help! Please!"

i turned to her,"you'd only slow me down"

her eyes widened and I glared at her. _Guess the princess wasn't expecting that answer_. I glared at the girl again, but this time something caught my attention. Around her neck was a necklace with a ring on it, but that wasn't any ring, it was Kayla's wedding ring. I looked from the ring to her and started breathing heavily. I got so angry. I threw my crossbow on the ground and took my knife out. I threw the girl aGainst the tree and kept my knife to her neck. She started crying and shaking more, trying to escape me, but I had her. She wasn't going anywhere and if she hurt kayla, she wasn't going anywhere alive.

"please" she begged

"that ring! Where did you get it!" I yelled.

"what?!" She asked frightened.

"the ring!" I yelled pushing the knife into her throat more.

"when I escaped my dads group, they took this other girl. When dad saw she had it he took it and threw it away from her. I grabbed it so if I saw her again I could give it to her!" She cried.

my heart pounded, she was alive, but some sick man had her AGAIN.

"the girl! What's her name!" I yelled.

"I don't know! She was tall, brown hair and had some tattoo on her stomach!"she cried.

i dug into my pocket with my other hand and grabbed one of the pictures and shoved it in her face," was this her!"

she starred at it and then looked back at me. A look of familiarization crossed her face as she nodded.  
i dropped the knife and backed away from the girl. _It was her. It was kayla. I needed too find out where they had her_. The little girl was gasping for air when I forced her up against the tree again making her scream quietly.

"Ya listen to me! That's my wife and you better tell me where they got her right now or I will not hesitate to kill you!" I threatened.

"they are in a garage about 5 miles north of here. It has an old sign at the front of it reading mcgintys." She answered quickly.

i glared at her and tore the necklace off of her neck so I had it now. I finally released her and picked up my crossbow,no longer facing her. I sighed and said,

"there's a group of people. Good people back on the highway. If they ain't there head for fort mason in Atlanta. That's where they'll be. Ask for Rick, tell him daryl sent you"

i didnt even even give the girl time to answer as I headed off in the direction she gave me. My mind was so focused on finding her and this group and killing every single man that touched her. I picked up on their trail not long after, but it started to rain. _No! It can't rain! It would ruin the only tracks I have!_ I ran as fast as I could trying to make up as much times as I could, but the tracks were disappearing quickly which also meant my chances of finding her were also. In about 15 minutes they were disappeared. I came to a road and just broke down. I was in tears, hope was gone. _I failed her. I failed Connor and elaina_. For the first time, I was lost. I looked around for any landmark, but nothing. The rain was pouring too hard and I just dropped my crossbow and fell to the floor. I pulled out the picture of me and her together and cried. I sat there for a few hours and when I thought all hope was lost I heard footsteps surround me. I looked up through my wet hair and saw boots and a man chuckled,

"well boys look what we got here"


	13. bow man

**Daryls pov**

i jumped up, grabbing my crossbow quickly aiming at the man that had spoken. I heard guns click and knew that I had weapons aimed at me, but I didn't care. The leader smirked and said,

"a bow man? It's a nice bow"

i just remained aiming at the man and glaring. My finger itched at the trigger and he chuckled,

"it really is no use to do that. You shoot me, my men will shoot you and we both will be dead so how bout ya lower yer weapon son"

"you first" I spat.

he smirked and then looked to his men,"men lower your weapons." He turned back to me,"we are no threat to you unless you threaten us. My men have lowered theirs, it's time you hold up your end." He said.

i hesitated and looked at some of the men before I slowly lowered my bow. The leader stepped forward extending his hand,

"the names joe"

i just glared at the man. I wasn't shaking this pricks hand.

"Daryl" I grunted.

"well daryl are you alone?" Joe asked.

i eyed one of the other men and then looked back at joe,"lookin for someone"

he smiled widely and then looked at around his group,"well men looks like we got ourselves a new recruit"

"what makes ya think I wanna join yer little group here!" I spat taking a step towards joe.

"we can help you look for whoever your looking for in exchange for your skills. You're a hunter correct?" He asked.

i said nothing, but starred at joe and he smirked,"I thought so. That means you can track, we need men like you"

I looked into joes eyes and it was like I was looking into the eyes of my dick head of a dad. I just wanted to blow his brains out right here and now, but that wouldn't end well for me. I'd never find kayla and never make it back to the kids. I gripped onto my crossbow tightly.

"I'm Better on my own" I grunted.

"that's a shame, coulda used ya. Hope ya find who yer lookin for" he snickered.

i grunted in return and started to turn away when I heard joe yell for someone, "alright girl come on! We don't have all day!"

i quickly turned to them when I heard footsteps walking out from the trees. My heart stopped and I froze, beginning to shake. Her eyes widened when she saw me and tears filled her eyes. My mouth gasped open and I about dropped my crossbow.

 _kayla?  
_


	14. Rare

**Kayla's pov**

i stood there frozen. It was like my whole world in an instant just stopped. I fought every urge to just break down and run into his arms. That's where I belonged. But I know if I did, daryl would be dead.

 **daryls pov**

I watched in shock as my wife that I thought was dead now stood infront of me. She was skinny, skinnier than normal and she had a big bruise under her eye. _O whoever did that was going to pay._ I watched as she shook when joe walked up and grabbed her forcefully, bringing her to him. He kept his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek as she squirmed to get away, but I watched his grip on her tighten. This infuriated me. I just glared at joe when he looked at me with an arched eyebrow.

"y'all ain't tell me ya had a woman with ya" I glared.

"she's the only one we got. She's a little skinny and feisty at times, but she's got a killer body so she's a keeper in my book" he smiled as she whimpered.

i shot daggers at joe. I wanted him dead more than anything. My fists clenched tightly. So tight that they turned white. Kayla looked at me with pleading eyes, but I didn't know what to do. I did know one thing, I couldn't leave her.

"well it was nice meetin ya daryl. I hope you find who you are lookin for" joe said starting to turn himself and kayla in the opposite direction.

I quickly acted,"ey!" Joe turned back to me and I said,"maybe I could use some help..ya know finding the person I'm lookin for"

joe smiled cheekily and I gave a quick glance to kayla who had relief in her eyes. I quickly looked back to joe and he said,

"I'm glad ya made the right choice. We'll take ya back to the camp"

i nodded and followed behind em, but made sure I was always in a close proximity to kayla. We arrived to some garage thing. When joe pushed kayla ahead,

"ey woman go cook us up some grub for our newest member"

she looked to me quickly and then turned and went to the garage. Joe quickly hit kayla on the ass. I was about to tear his throat open right there, but she gave me a warning glance and walked back. Joe turned back to me,

"she's somethin ain't she"

i glared and tried to control my breathing as I didn't answer his question. He smirked,

"alright first things first. You know me, this is Len, terry, George, and mike. That fine piece of ass is kayla and she's been claimed by me"

i arched an eyebrow,"claimed?"

"yes it's our rules here and if you break our rules you will be taught a lesson. It's like that for everyone of us. The most important, you cannot take what is claimed by another. In order for you to own something, you claim it and it can't be touched." He explained.

"so ya claimed a woman?" I asked.

he nodded proudly,"Times are different now daryl. There are very few women in the world and when you come across one, it's rare"

the other members of his group dispersed leaving me alone with joe. We started walking in the woods and I asked,

"so where'd ya find er?"

"poor thing was abandoned by er husband, found er In the woods all alone" he said.

 _abandoned? Man the urge to kill this man was going to tear me apart_. He chuckled,

"sad part is she still thinks he's out there lookin for her and he'll find her"

i looked at him,"what happens if that actually happens? If ya come across him?"

"she's been claimed, we'd kill him" he said sternly.

i remained quiet and just nodded. We walked back into the garage and the men met us. Joe started talkin,

"alright, who's on first watch of kayla?"

I looked at at him confused,"ya gotta watch er?"

he sighed,"she's tried to escape before so yea"

"I'll do it" I volunteered.

no one looked suspicious except for this Len guy. He glared at me and looked like he was trying to put things together. I glared right back and joe said,

"alright daryl has first watch tonight. Men let's get some sleep, we have a big day of helping daryl find his partner tomorrow."

The group dispersed in different directions and joe led me to where kayla sleeps. She was already layin on the ground and barely had a cover. The others were filled with blankets and covers and they weren't sharing with her.

"Just make sure she doesn't go no where, I'll be right over there if you need me" he said

I nodded and he walked away. I waited till I heard snoring coming from every area and walked up behind her. There she was, my wife, my whole world and I couldn't even hold her without risking both of our lives.

 **kaylas pov**

i lay on the cold, hard ground starring out the window. _Daryl was here. He was alive and he came for me. where were the twins though! Were they alright!_ I heard footsteps behind me and rolled my eyes. _Wonder who they have watching me tonight?_ The person sat down next to me and started rubbing my arm. This was different though, i didn't get the creepy feeling I did if it were Len or joe. I was comfortable. I then felt soft kisses being placed on my shoulder and butterflies fled my body. I quickly sat up and was welcome with the gorgeous blue eyes that belonged to the man I love. I felt tears enter my eyes and I couldn't fight it any more. I flung my arms around his neck and cried quietly,"daryl"

he wrapped his large arms around me and held me tightly to his chest,"I thought I'd never see you again"

i pulled away and looked into his eyes. I forcefully kissed him feeling the strength and health return to me. He kissed back equally as hard until he pulled away,"woman are you crazy! Why did you run into that herd!"

"I had to protect you and the kids...wait the kids! Are they ok!" I asked.

he chuckled and whispered,"they're fine. They're with Rick and the group"

relief flew over over me as he entangled his hand in mine. I felt his wedding ring against my cold finger and I sighed,"daryl my ring.."

i couldn't finish because he pulled out something from his pocket. He smirked and I gasped seeing it was my ring.

"how did you...what ...how.."I asked shocked.

"ran into a little girl bout Carl's age and she was keepin it for ya." He smirked as he slid in back on my finger.

i looked down to my hand and then back up at daryl. _He was back. I had him back_. He looked over me and whispered,

"yer skinny. You been eating?"

I sighed and shook my head no.

"Why not?" He whispered.

"because I didn't think I was going to ever get out of here and I would have rather died then be stuck with this group" I whispered looking away ashamed.

i felt daryl grab my chin and force me to look at him,"that don't sound like the girl I know. The girl I know wouldn't give up so easily. Where's that girl?"

I sighed and looked into his eyes. He was right I gave up way too fast.

"You know I never gave up that you would find me" I whispered

"I wouldn't have stopped" he whispered back.

i just smiled at him for a moment and then he placed a gentle hand on my cheek. I flinched when he touched my bruise. He frowned and asked,

"wha happened to yer face?"

i sighed,"I didn't follow the rules"

His face turned angry and he whispered,"I'm going to get us out of here." 


	15. Rules

**Daryls pov**

 _I had to get her out of here_. I got up early before anyone else so no one saw us. I couldn't control my urge last night to hold her and everyone was asleep so I did. I sighed as I looked down at her on the ground. This girl surprises me more and more everyday. She's as strong, hell if not stronger than any man I've ever met. She's a true dixon. Joe and Len were looking at a map when I arrived in the room.

"hey daryl!" Joe called me over.

i adjusted my crossbow and walked over to them. Joe looked back down at the Map, but Len kept glaring at me. _What the hell was his problem?_

"Was thinkin we get some huntin done before we start lookin for yer friend." joe said.

i nodded and he pointed to a spot on the map,"you and Len go here and see what ya can catch."

"what about the girl?" I asked quickly.

both men looked at me and spoke said,"she's with me and terry"

i hesitated, but nodded. Sighing I left the building with this Len prick behind me. We walked in silent for about a half hour until I saw a rabbit. I aimed my crossbow and shot it dead easily. I started to walk over to collect my kill until I heard him yell,

"claimed!"

I turned and and looked at him sickly. He smirked and walked past me, bumping my shoulder and grabbin my rabbit.

"that's mine I shot the damn thing!" I spat.

"so what? I claimed it, it's mine, it's the rules" he smirked.

"rules? Yer damn rules are bull shit!" I spat trying to take the rabbit back, but he grabbed it away.

"ah. Ah. Ah. You need to learn to follow the rules seein this ain't the first thing that you've tried to take that has been claimed." He smirked.

I glared at him in the most evil way possible. _He knew ,_ "the hell you talkin bout?"

"Don't think I don't know who you are." He smiled slyly.

i glared at him harder as he smiled wickedly. I tried to control my anger and I didn't want to even look at the prick. I turned away and heard him chuckle,

"Saw you two getting all lovey last night. Husband and wife reunited" he taunted.

i started breathing hard, I was so angry right now. If he keeps it up, he won't live much longer.

"it must hurt huh? Seeing another mans hands all over your girl? Him touching her and her begging for you to save her but there's nothing you can do about it. Wonder what joe will do when he finds out the truth? Maybe he'll kill her, maybe he'll kill you." he chuckled.

 _thats it._ I quickly grabbed the knife in my belt loop and turned, raising it about to stab Len. That's when joe quickly ran in between us,

"woah woah!"

I lowered my weapon when the whole group surrounded us with their weapons raised. I kept my knife in grasp in case this went bad. Kayla came into view behind joe and I glanced at her and she looked worried.

"Now one of you want to tell me what's going on here?" Joe asked.

"ain't it obvious?" Len smirked.

i glared at him,"don't even man" I threatened.

joe looked from me back to Len,"what is it Len?"

len looked at me, then to kayla, and then back to joe. He smirked,"he's her husband."


	16. Liar

**Ricks pov**

its been about a week since we last saw daryl. The twins have asked about him a lot, but less frequently lately. Maggie and Beth did a good job of keeping them distracted. We had set up camp for the night. We were farther down in the highway and on our way to fort mason now. I didn't know how I felt about it, but I had no other option right now. Food was running scarce seeing that are two best hunters were now gone. I kept the twins always in my sights. They may be the last thing I have of her, especially since elaina is a spitting image of her mom. Every time she looked at me I got an ache In my heart. _She had to be alive._ Carl is still upset, but he's been helping with the twins as well along with Judith. We came to a house where we decided we'd stay tonight. Everyone picked their spots and I put Judith to bed and sawent downstairs where I would fall asleep on the couch.

 **carls pov**

i was patrolling the hallways of this old house we were staying in tonight. 2 more days max till we reached fort mason. Daryl still hadn't come back with kayla and I knew he wouldn't. She was dead. I sighed and leaned up against the wall shaking the hurt from my heart. That's when I heard Connor and elaina in the room across from me. I peaked in to make sure they were ok and I heard them talking.

"You think we're ever gonna see mommy or daddy again?" Elaina whispered.

"yea they are brave" Connor whispered back.

I rolled my eyes and was about to walk away when something caught my attention. Around Elaina's neck was a necklace. It was Kayla's locket! I opened the door and stormed up to her. I don't know why it made me so mad, but it did. They both jumped and then calmed down once they saw it was just me.

"Where did you get that?" I asked pointing to the locket.

elaina smiled and picked it up with her hand,"mommy gave it to me"

"why?" I spat.

"she said she wanted me to protect it" she whispered clearly taken back by my tone with her.

i just looked back down at the necklace. I had to fight every urge in my body not to rip it off her neck. I just grunted and turned to leave when a small hand grabbed mine,

"uncle Carl?"

i turned and saw connor. His eyes wide and whimpering,"do you know when they are coming back?"

"ya, they've been gone a long time." Elaina said.

i looked at the two kids pissed off. didn't they see what was going on here!

"they ain't." I grunted.

elaina gasped and Connor let go of my hand wide eyed, "but daddy said..."

i cut him off, "it doesn't matter what he said. They are both gone and aren't coming back! They are dead so get the thought out of you mind that you'll ever see them again cause you won't!"

elaina started crying and Connor ran up and hugged her. I was breathing heavily and instantly regretted what I said. I just couldn't hold it in anymore and unfortunately these two were in the line of fire. I just turned and walked away out of the hallway. I couldn't look at them right now. I leaned up against the wall, sighed, and reached into my pocket and pulled out the picture of us 3. I starred down at kayla and felt a tear escape my eyes. I quickly wiped it and whispered,

"Forever and ever huh? Liar"

i crumpled up the picture with my hand and walked downstairs seeing my dad alreAdy asleep on the couch. I opened the door and threw the wadded up picture outside and closed the door again. I couldn't control how angry I was. I walked up to the couch where dad was and sat on the floor beside it. I brought my knews up to my face and finally just cried.


	17. How well you did with mom

**Ricks pov**

i woke up the next morning, stretching. My back was as sore as ever from that lumpy couch. It was better than nothing though. I looked around and noticed Carl walking around outside. I shook my head and sighed. _My boy is too far gone, I don't think I'll ever be able to get him back. I can't let that happen with Judith though or the twins_. Speaking of them I walked upstairs to check on them and make sure they were alright. I peaked Into a room and saw Judith asleep next to Beth. I smiled and walked into the next room that had the twins in it. _Daryl needs to get back fast with or without kayla, the twins need him_. I sighed and looked inside seeing both of them awake. Elaina was cowering in a corner with her knees brought up to her chest. Connor was facing the other way and just looking out the window. Both had red faces and bags under their eyes like they hadn't slept. I knocked on the door causing elaina to jump, but Connor hadn't moved or flinched. He was so much like daryl it was scary.

"Hey" I said in a silent calm voice.

normally both would run and hug me at just the sight of me, but they both stayed where they were. This worried me. I slowly walked into the room between the two. i looked at them and then bent down to elaina's height. She had hid her face in her knees and I whispered,

"what's wrong sweetheart?"

she just shook her head, but I lifted her chin so she would look at me. Now she had tears falling down her cheek. I looked to Connor for a reaction, but he continued to face away and stare out the window. I looked back at elaina,

"what's bothering you?"

"mommy and daddy are dead" she whimpered.

my heart stopped and I immediately said,"no..no they're not"

"ya they are. They haven't come back yet" she whispered.

"I know they haven't but they will soon. Trust me sweetheart. You're dad is the toughest man I've ever met. He isn't going to leave you and neither will your mom" I gave her a reassuring smile.

i saw a glint of hope return to her eyes only to be ruined when Connor said,

"why are you lyin to her?"

i looked at him immediately. He was still facing the window. I slowly got up and walked to his side, bending down to his level. I saw the sadness in this broken boy. For a 5 year old he was strong, but how so easily could a boy who had so much faith and so much loyalty to his father immediately disappear? he still wouldn't look at me when I whispered,

"what are you talking about?"

he finally turned to me,"they're gone, they ain't comin back"

i rested a hand on his shoulder and he immediately shook it off. I starred in shock at the boy. He turned to me, eyes hard and it reminded me of Carl. _No I would not let him become like that_.

"There's no point in lyin to us grandpa! They are gone and never coming back! They left us and now they are both dead!"

i looked at him seriously,"you listen to me right now. You are wrong. You're dad would not leave you two and neither would your mom. Look I know you're scared and hurting, but this is your time you need to be brave Connor. You need to be brave for your sister. She needs you and looks up to you."

he starred over at elaina and then back to me.i saw a hint of the little boy I knew come back into his eyes.

"Where did this all come from?" I asked.

"uncle Carl" he whispered.

my body froze. I never have been so angry with my boy in my life. He needed to grow up and not act like this, especially with the twins. They were more vulnerable than ever now and I was tryin my hardest to fill a spot I knew I couldn't fill. I reached my hand out again and placed it on his tiny time he didn't shake it off,

"don't you listen to him alright?" I looked to elaina,"neither of you."

they both nodded and I kissed both on the forehead and exited the room. I was goin to have a talk with my son. I stormed outside to where I saw him last. When I got on the deck, I looked around for him. I saw him and started making my way across the deck when I kicked something. I looked down and saw a crumpled up piece of paper. Curiosity got the best of me and I bent down to pick it up. I even it out and my breathing hitched. It was a picture of me, kayla, and Carl she took that day by the garden. I look at my daughters smiling face and felt my heart shatter. I knew the odds of her being alive were very slim. I took a deep breath, wiped the tear that about fell and stuck the picture in my back pocket. I continued down the stairs to the area by the house where Carl was. I came up behind him and said,

"hey"

he turned to see me approach him, grunted and turned away. I got next to him and said,

"you wanna tell me why you said those things to Connor and elaina?"

"they needed to hear the truth. Shouldn't be getting their hopes up for something that'll never happen" he said sternly.

i turned him to me,"you don't know that Carl. They could still be alive."

"they're dead dad and those kids deserved to know the truth" he said madly.

"you listen to me. They are 5 years old Carl, not grown up. They need to hold onto as much hope as they can. You can't go around telling them things like that. They'll believe everything you say! They look up to you!" I scolded.

"well they need to grow up. Don't live in a world that you are allowed to be a kid anymore! People break promises and leave and die! That's the world we live in now and they need to see that and get use to that!" He yelled.

"Acts what this is about huh! You think if kayla had the chance to be here right now that she would!" I yelled.

"she killed herself!" He yelled.

"to save her family! I know you don't understand right now and I don't expect you to! She did the same thing I would have done for you, Judith, or your mom!" I yelled.

"yea you see how well you did with mom" he grunted.

anger flew over me.i was about to completely explode when we heard a tree branch crack in the the woods. We both immediately aimed our guns. Out walked a teenage girl, red hair, freckles. She couldn't have been more than 16. She looked scared and was shaking as she stook her hand up in surrender.

"Who are you!" I yelled.

"daisy" her voice shook.

i watched the girl carefully and scanned the trees behind her,"you alone?"

she said nothing, just starred at Both our guns frightened. Carl raised his voice,

"answer the question!"

i looked over over at him disapprovingly and he rolled his eyes. I looked back at the girl and she shook,"yes I'm alone"

I lowered my gun, but Carl kept his raised. I looked over to Carl,"put the gun down"

carl rly refused to look at me, keeping his gun aimed and glaring at the girl.

"Carl now" I raised my voice.

He glared at me and then back at the girl. He sighed and slowly lowered his gun. I turned back to the gun,

"are you alright?"

"ya just hungry" she whispered.

i nodded,"we don't have much food or a place to stay, I think it best of you be on your way" I started to turn away.

"wait are you Rick?" She quickly asked nervously.

i froze. How did she know my name? I turned and looked at her quizzingly. I looked at Carl who starred back at me with the same confusion I had on my face. We both looked back at the girl,

"ya I am. How do you know me?"

"I ran into this man, he told me to head towards the highway, that there would be his group. He told me to ask for a Rick." She stuttered.

 _a man? No way it couldn't be_ ,"what was his name?"

a huge smile came to my face and I heard Carl's breathing hitch when she said,"daryl" 


	18. Take us there

**Ricks pov**

i sat on the couch beside the bed that Hershel was checking the girl on. Carl was leaning up against the wall starring down daisy. All of us dying to find out one piece of information. _She knew daryl, which meant he was alive, but had he had kayla with him? Did she see her too?_ I was growing impatient and was shifting in my seat. I had to know and by the look on Carl's face, he did too. Hershel finally finished wrapping the girls arm,

"alright daisy I think you're going to be ok"

she smiled up at him,"thank you sir"

hershel looked at at me and I nodded at him. He nodded back and left the room. I sighed and asked,

"how do you know daryl?"

"he found me" she whispered.

"was he with anyone?" I asked.

carl and I just starred eagerly. She looked at both of us in the eyes and then back down to the ground. Carl growled,

"well was he or not!"

Daisy jumped and i gave a disapproving look to him,"Carl that's enough"

He scoffed at me and the girl whimpered,"no he was alone"

Disappointment flew over me. carl scoffed and left the room. I shook my head and I looked back up to daisy who was just starring at the door where Carl left.

"I'm sorry about him."

"he's so broken." She said looking back at me.

"yea he's lost a lot" I sighed.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you two fighting about earlier?" She whispered nervously.

that same pang in my heart hit as I thought about earlier. I looked At daisy and then back to the floor,

"he told daryl's kids he and his mom was dead" I sighed.

"o...and the person you were hoping he was with? The mom?" She asked quietly.

i looked down at my knees and grabbed the picture I had bunched up in my pockets. I sighed,

"my daughter, Carl's sister"

"o...is she?" She asked.

"we don't know. We got separated, that's who daryls out there looking for" I said.

"what's that?" She asked.

i looked at her and saw her nod down to the picture in my hand. I sighed and handed it to her,"that's her"

she looked down to the picture and froze,"she's your daughter?"

i quickly looked to the girl when she said that,"ya. Did you see her?"

she nodded,"ya and when I ran into daryl I sent him to where I saw her"

"Was she alive! Where was she?" I asked standing up and quickly walking to be right infront of her.

"last time I saw her ya she was alive, but she probably wishes she was dead right now" she whispered.

"what are you talkin about?" I spat.

"she's been taken by this group, they've claimed her and they won't let her go" she said scared.

"claimed?" I asked.

"yah, that's the rules of that group, you have to claim something to own it and she's been claimed, she couldn't escape if she wanted to." She whispered sadly.

"how do you know all this?" I asked.

"the leader is my dad" she sighed.

i starred at her frozen. Here was the daughter of the sick bastard that has my daughter. She looked up at me fearfully and said,

"I escaped though, I don't agree with my dad and I've seen the way he is with people, when I ran into daryl I pointed him in the direction so he could get her out of there."

I starred down at her. Anger and sympathy for the girl filled my body. She started to shake under my gaze,

"Rick? If my dad finds out that daryl is her husband, he'll kill them both. They won't stand a chance"

i froze. I knew they both could handle themselves, but not against a group of armed men. I also knew daryl wouldn't be able to control himself once he finds her.

"You know where they are?" I askd sternly.

she shook her head,"I think I remember. If they haven't moved"

"you take us there"I said.

A/n sorry that I got away from kayla and daryl and left it a cliffhanger lol but if I get 5 more comments tonight I'll post the chapter of Karyl! Hehe see what I did there :) come on ya know yer dyin to know what happens now that joe knows!


	19. Own personal hell

**Kayla's pov**

i stood frozen as I began to shake. _They knew. What was going to happen now?_ joe looked from Len back to me,

"this true?"

i didnt say anything. I just starred back wide eyed. He then looked to daryl,"daryl is this true?"

daryl also didnt say anything, just glared at the man. Joe sighed and shook his head as Len said,

"oh it's true alright. Saw em snuggling up and getting reacquainted last night while we all were asleep. She's got the ring back. See for yourself"

i shot Len a death stare and he just smirked back. _O I just wanted to beat the hell out of him_. My thoughts were brought back to reality as joe stormed up to me,

"show me your left hand"

i starred at him and finally got enough courage to stand my ground,"no"

i heard a few gasps from the group causing me to smirk. That's when joe growled and grabbed my hand forcefully about pullin me off my feet. Now there was nothing I could say. The evidence right there in the open, we were both screwed. Joe growled and turned back to his men,

"men grab him!"

terry and len grabbed onto daryl as he fought to get away. They brought him down to his eyes got wide and I tried to get over to him, but joe grabbed me by my waist.

"Men we have a rule breaker in our midst. Teach him a lesson! All the way!" Joe yelled.

"no!" I screamed as I watched terry take a swing at daryl

Daryl fell to the ground hard as the rest of the men beat on him. My heart was shattering as I watched this. I did everything in my power to get out of joes grasp, but he was too strong. Then a thought came to me, I quickly bit down on his hand so hard that it drew blood. Joe released me and yelled out In pain. THis gave me the few seconds I needed. I ran to daryl and threw my body over top him, blocking him from any hit, but none came. I felt him breathing hard under me and was wincing in pain. I looked up at the claimers. They were all just starring down at me and daryl. Joe stormed his way to us. Boy did he look pissed. I shakily stood up and said,

"he didn't break the rules. If anybody broke the rules it's me. Let him go and teach me the lesson"

I heard daryl shuffle on the ground and say in a painful voice,"no"

i turned back to him and bent down to his face. I placed a hand on the side of his face,"shhhh."

he looked at me with painful eyes and I gave a small smile back. I didn't get to say another word as I was yanked by my hair to my feet. I yelled in pain as I heard daryl try to get to his feet,

"don't touch her! You mother fuckers!"

he was failing though, he was way too hurt. When my hair was finally released, my face was met with a hard fist. I fell over from the impact and felt a wet substance by my nose. I placed my hand on it and pulled away to see it was blood. I looked back up with fearful eyes as joe started kicking me. My vision was getting blurry with each blow. Then he yelled over to his men,

"pick him up! I want him to see this!"

I heard grunting and then was forced up to my feet by my hair again and was grabbed around my neck by joes arm. When my focus regained I saw they had daryl on his knees, forcing him to look at me. His eyes were both angry and pained. There was so much blood from my nose, I was now tasting it in my mouth. I tried to give him a look like I was ok, but we both knew I wasn't. Joe smirked at daryl,

"this will teach you to take what's mine."

I heard a click and looked down to see joe had opened up his knife. Daryl started fighting against the men harder,

"I'll fuckin kill you!"

my heart started pounding as joe brought it up to my shirt and cut down the middle of it, completely exposing my bra. Joe smirked,

"alright men this once I'm willing to share what I've claimed, who wants to go first?"

"I'll have a go!" Len said.

my eyes grew wide with fright and I knew fighting this wasn't going to be much use. Daryl was throwing himself all over to get out of the men's grasp. Joe chuckled and then placed the knife up to my throat,

"tell him to stop"

i looked at him him and then back to daryl. My voice was soft and a whimper but I finally got out,"daryl stop"

daryl stopped for a second and looked deep into my fearful eyes. He shook his head,"your gonna have to kill me first"

i shook at his answer. I felt joes breath chuckle against my ear as he raised his gun at daryls head,"sounds good to me"

i kicked and screamed to try to get away especially now that daryl was about to die right infront of my face. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I realized I couldn't do anything. It was like now I was in my own personal hell.i closed my eyes not wanting to watch this. I fought and fought, screamed and cried, begged and pleaded, but what woke me up from my daze and causing my body to freeze was the sound of a gunshot and lump on the ground.


	20. He's mine

**Kayla's pov**

my eyes opened wide when I heard the gunshot, but the body that I heard hit the floor didn't belong to daryl, but to terry. Everyone froze and the other claimers aimed their weapons. It was silent for a moment as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened. I looked around nervously still in joes grasp until I finally made eye contact with daryl. He looked back equally confused, but then realized he was only being held by Len. He waited a few more seconds and then gunshots rang out again.

 **daryls pov**

gun shots filled the air and were picking off members of joes group. Joe was barking orders to his remaining men as he continued holding kayla by the neck. This pissed me off. I was still on my knees when I realized it was just that prick Len holding me. I could easily overpower him. I saw my crossbow sitting a few feet from me. I quickly yanked myself from his grasp and grabbed my crossbow. I then turned and hit Len across the face with it, watching him go down with a broken nose. I smiled at my work and stood over him aiming my crossbow at his head. He looked up at me with scared eyes as I said,

"ass hole" and pulled the trigger sending an arrow into his brain.

i quickly yanked my bolt from his body and heard kayla whimper. I quickly turned and aimed my bow at joe who was basically using her as a shield. I looked around and saw all his men were dead. He was the only one left and he had a knife to her neck. I didn't even care where the gunshots came from, my focus was on her. I glared threateningly at him,

"you best let her go!"

i could tell he was shookin up about what had just happened. His eyes were going everywhere. Kayla was holding the arm he had around her neck. I noticed he had been puttin pressure on the knife cause I saw blood start to drip out from under it.

"I said let er go!" I yelled again.

"o yea and what you gonna do if I don't?" He said.

i contemplated any way of killing the bitch without hitting her, but there was no way. He smirked,

"face it daryl, it's over we're both alone now!" He yelled.

Kayla looked at me with fearful eyes. I huffed and started to take a step forward when I heard twigs snap from behind me and an all too familiar voice say,

"he ain't alone"

 **kaylas pov**

 _no way_. My eyes are playing tricks on me. Suddenly the fear going throughout my body and the pain from the knife pressing into my neck disappeared. I started crying when daryl looked about as shocked as I was. I watched as out of the woods came Rick, Maggie,Glenn, and michonne. Rick stormed up right next to daryl with his gun aimed at me and joe. Rick finally looked over to daryl and gave him a nod. Daryl nodded back and then they both looked back to us with weapons aimed. I looked into the eyes of the others, Maggie's eyes met mine. I saw tears swell up in her eyes. I knew my eyes were wide with shock and I felt so numb. That's when I looked back to the eyes of the man that became my dad. Ricks eyes were hard and pissed off as he starred at joe, then his eyes met mine. I looked at him with thankful eyes. I never thought I'd see any of them again. I wanted so badly to run and hug onto him, never letting him go. His eyes looked from mine and down to my chest where my shirt had been ripped open. He looked back up with such anger in his eyes that I had never seen before. I guess he put two and two together. The numbness faded when I felt the pressure of the knife. He was pressing against my neck harder and I let out a whimper in pain.

"let her go joe" daryl growled.

"it's clear you're outnumbered here joe, it's over just let her go" Rick said sternly.

i felt joe begin to shake from behind me. He had to of realized Rick was right and started pressing more into my skin. It started getting to my airway and I whispered painfully,

"dad"

this made joe smirk,"what's this then? Daddy and husband come to save you?"

i heard a growl come from someone's lips. I couldn't tell if it was daryl or ricks. Joes hot breath in my ear disgusted me as I heard him chuckle. Then it all happened so quickly. I felt joe reach around with his other hand and groped one of my breasts and then he screamed out in pain. I was dropped to the floor gasping for air, holding onto my neck. I looked up to see joe had an arrow in his hand and was pulling it out. Daryl had ran and jumped on him and began beating him. I screamed when I felt someone grab me.

"kayla it's me! Kayla" a female voice said.

i looked up and saw the concerned gaze of Maggie with michonne and Glenn standing over her. I starred at all of them and blinked a few times hoping i wasn't just seeing things. I wasn't...they were actually here. I broke out in tears as I starred back into the eyes of my best friend.

"Maggie" my voice cracked as we embraced each other forcefully.

i heard her begin to cry as she held on to me tightly. I pulled away and was hugged by both Glenn and michonne. That's when I heard Rick tell daryl,

"daryl stop"

daryl stopped mid punch and looked at him like he was crazy. Rick glared down at joe,"he's mine"

daryl hesitated for a minute and then slowly got up and stepped to the side of Rick. Joe looked up at both men breathing heavily. Daryl sure did a number on his face. I watched as Rick took his knife out of his belt and bent down to him stabbing him in his lower stomach and then driving it up to his neck. Completely dissecting his stomach completely open. The scene was horrifying and Rick was really scaring me at the moment. Maggie held onto me as we watched this. When he was sure he was dead, he yanked the knife from his stomach and stood up slowly, not facing us. I just starred at him until I felt more eyes on me. I turned and saw it was daryl. I instantly broke from Maggie's grasp and ran into his arms. He dropped his crossbow and picked me up kissing me with such affection and passion. We both thinking each other were dead. Once we pulled away we were both breathing heavily. This kiss Took our breaths away.

"I love you" I whispered

"I love you too" he whispered back grabbing me to kiss him again.

once we pulled away he wrapped me In a tight hug. As I looked over his shoulder, I saw Rick still looking down at joe. I pulled away from daryl and he looked at me as I said,

"Rick?"

rick didn't move. I wanted so badly to just run into his arms. I slowly walked away from daryl a few steps and then said as my voice cracked,

"dad?"

that seemed to bring his back down to reality. He turned to me with hard eyes that instantly softened when he looked at me. I watched as his eyes began to water and felt my own tears start falling on my cheeks. We were both speechless so I followed my instincts. The urge to be in his arms too strong for me to fight anymore. I broke out in a sprint as I jumped into his arms. He held me tightly against him as we both started sobbing. I had never seen or heard him cry before. He held me so tight like we were afraid To let the other go because of fear the other would be gone again. We both began to shake as we fell to the floor. My head was burried in his neck as my tears stained the top of his shirt. We were both shaking as I heard him whisper

"you're alive"

i nodded and we finally pulled away from each other and smiled. I wiped tears from his eyes and saw daryl behind Rick out a hand on ricks shoulder. Rick looked up and saw who it was. He wiped the tears I didn't get and stood infront of daryl. They both starred at each other for a minute and then did something that shocked me. They hugged. Now daryl isn't much of a hugging guy. This made me smile. I was back where I belonged. Once they released from the hug daryl stook out a hand to help me up. I grabbed it and he said,

"c'mon. Let's get back to the kids"


	21. Don't regret

**Kayla's pov**

we decided to make camp for the night. Tomorrow we would make it back to the others. Back to my kids. Butterflies filled my stomach as I thought of that. I would have my precious little boy and girl back in my arms. My heart yearned for them and my arms ached to feel them. We had made a fire and we all sat around it. I rested my head on daryls shoulder as our fingers were intertwined. We hadn't let each other go since we got back. Once joe had found me, I thought my life was over. I should've known that wouldn't happen having the kind of husband I do. I smiled as I took in his woodsy scent. Most women would hate the smell and probably tell him he needed a bath, but this was daryl, this was his smell and I loved it. We all sat gazing into the fire. That's when I noticed Rick hadn't joined us. He was very distant and didn't speak much since he killed joe. Hell I never have seen that side of him before and at the time it kinda scared me. Rick had changed so much since I met him. He's adjusted to this new world. I sighed and looked over daryls shoulder seeing him starring out into the woods away from everyone else. I lifted my head off daryls shoulder and started to stand up. He quickly squeezed my hand tighter,

"where you goin?"

i smiled at him. He didn't want me anywhere else than beside him since we found each other,

"I gotta talk to him" I said nodding my head towards Rick.

daryl looked and sighed,"alright but make it fast"

i smirked,"ya miss me that much?"

"ya got no idea" he grunted.

i smiled bigger and gave him a light kiss as he finally released his hand from mine. I walked up behind Rick,

"hey"

he turned and saw it was me, smiling lightly,"hey"

I crossed my arms over my chest. Since my shirt was ripped Rick had given me his over shirt which was short sleeved. I walked up so I was at the side of him,

"you ok?"

he sighed and looked back out to the woods,"ya I'm fine"

i looked closely to his face. He was stressed and way over thinking things,"thank you really for coming after me"

"I'd never leave you hanging. Especially at the hands of that monster." He growled thinking of joe.

"you wanna talk about it? What happened?" I asked.

he sighed and pinched his nose,"I don't know it's just when I saw him holding you at gun point and then your shirt...it's like I wasn't in control of my body. Something else took over, but I knew one thing for sure. I wanted that man to suffer. I didn't get a chance with jack, the governor, or Tom. It was like all that rage came out on joe and the scary thing is, I don't regret it one bit."

"You know I love you right?" I said.

he looked at me with a small smile,"ya I know"

i smiled back,"how's the twins doing? How is Carl?"

his smile immediately vanished when I brought them up. _Was there something wrong?  
_  
"Connor and elaina are fine and missed you both terribly. They are strong and way smarter to only be 5 years old. I think they get it from their parents. They definitely get the stubbornness from you guys" he chuckled.

i laughed too,"and Carl?"

he sighed deeply and shook his head,"I don't know what to do with him anymore Kay"

"what do you mean?" I asked worried.

"this world has changed him and not in a good way. He thinks you're dead and never coming back. He wouldn't talk to anyone for days. When he did he only screamed at you. Even told Connor and elaina you both were dead and to give up."

I gasped hearing Rick say all this. This wasn't my Carl.

"he's turned cold. He blocks everything out and I don't know how to get him back. I knew my only hope to was finding you. You've always been his only hope. He loves you more than anything" Rick sighed.

i felt tears in my eyes imagining what the last few days must've been like for Carl. He was probably feeling the same way I did when my brother sacrificed himself for me. I was more determined than ever to get back. I put a reassuring hand on ricks shoulder,

"don't worry. When we get back I'll talk to him. He can't be too far gone, I won't let him. If he is, I'll go and get him"

rick nodded and kissed my forehead,"go be with daryl, he hasn't stopped looking back here since ya left his side."

i chuckled and looked over to daryl who immediately turned his head once he saw me look. I gave Rick one more small smile and walked back by the fire. Daryl was now laying on his back as I rested my head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around my back as I saw 3 slips of paper in daryls pocket. I slipped them out fast before he could protest. The first one was the picture he took of me sleeping. I moaned and said,

"you still haven't lost this yet?"

he swiped it from my hands,"nope and ain't gonna neither. Especially after what just happened. Was my only picture of ya"

i rolled my eyes and looked at the next picture. I gasped when I saw it was the selfie me and him took,

"where did you find this! I dropped it when joes group found me"

"I know...found it in a bush. Kept me goin and it helped me find ya" he whispered.

i smiled and flipped to the last picture, I felt tears in my eyes seeing it was the one of me and my twins. I rubbed my hand across their beautiful faces. Daryls grip on me tightened,

"they're gonna be happy to see ya"

"I need them daryl. I need them in my arms" I whispered.

"tomorrow. Now get some rest, got a big day tomorrow" he said kissing my head.

i smiled and nodded against his chest breathing in that fresh scent of woods and dirt.

"I love you daryl" I whispered.

"love ya too" he answered.

i smiled and fell asleep listening to his beating heart which was music to my ears,


	22. Gave up

**Carls pov**

 _It's been 2 days since dad, Glenn, Maggie, and michonne went on a run. I tried to go too but of course dad said no. Why the hell can't he see that I'm not a kid anymore! I'm 17 years old for Christ sakes_. So here I am sitting on the porch of the house we are held up in stabbing my knife into the banister. I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned and saw daisy. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the banister. _Ever since this girls got here, she's been getting on my nerves. She won't leave me alone. She also is all over Connor and elaina. They aren't her family, they're mine and she thinks she can just come in and take em from me? Ha! They are the last thing I have left of kayla and Im not losing them. I wonder where daryl is?_ I heard footsteps get closer to me and saw her out of the corner of my eye lean against the banister next to me. I continued doing what I was doing, hoping she'd leave. She didn't.

"You trying to cut through the banister?" She joked.

I ignored her and continued stabbing it with my knife. She sighed,

"Ya know Connor and elaina are worried about ya"

I looked at her,"you need to stop"

"Stop what?" She asked,

"Leave them alone. You ain't their family, you ain't ever gonna be so stop trying." I said sternly.

"I'm just tryin to help until their mom gets..." She started to stay but I cut her off,

"She ain't comin back so ya need to stop getting their hopes up"

"Why are you so sure she and daryl are dead?" She asked.

"She hasn't come back, she ran into a herd. She's gone. Dead." I whispered.

"You don't seem to have much faith in yer sister." She whispered.

I glared at her,"I just accept what it is and don't live in some fantasy land like everyone else" I snarled.

"Well when I met daryl, he seemed like he could take care of himself." She said.

"You don't know nothin" I said.

"She's still alive and so is he" she said.

I stood up tall infront of her,"why are you even here"

"Cause I was given a chance. I'm stronger than you think Carl grimes." She said.

"Will you just leave me alone" I glared.

She sighed and looked into my eyes with her bright blue ones. She started to turn away when I leaned on the banister again. She stopped before she was off the porch,

"If you love your Family you should never give up on each other."

"O yea? Where's yours?" I grunted.

"I gave up on them" she whispered and walked away.

I was takin back by her answer, but went back to my work on the banister. I sighed and about turned to go inside when I heard small, piercing screams. The twins. My heart sped up and I immediately jumped over the banister and landed on the ground as I ran towards the crys. No I couldn't lose them too,

"Connor! Elaina!"


End file.
